Try new plant based recipes during St. Mary’s fast

Yesterday we were invited to a dear friend’s house to break the fast. It’s such an honor to have friends who, even though they have been fasting all day long, break the fast with us on a meal of plant-based foods! She made koushari, foul, fried eggplant, and ateif. Oh it was so good!!!!While we were there, we started discussing how today starts the Coptic Orthodox fast in honor of St. Mary, in which Egyptian Christians will be fasting at the same time as Muslims, albeit different kinds of fasts. Coptic Orthodox Christianswill be fasting from animal products during these next two weeks.Our Muslim friend told us the story of how her mother used to fast with her Christian friends during the St. Mary fast. Yes, she would also avoid animal products during those two weeks in honor of Jesus’ mother. It was a reminder to focus on the common ground and the things we share together.

Alf Hana is full of plant based recipes and is a rich resource for Christians during this fast. In honor of St. Mary’s fast, we would like to feature OUR top 10 favorite posts on Alf Hana. Mary chose 5 and I chose 5 to share with you today. We hope you like them!